Sri Lanka
ශ්රී ලංකා මාතා
Sri Lanka Matha
Mother Sri Lanka
1940
1951
Ananda Samarakoon
Ananda Samarakoon
❤ Love of homeland 🤝 Unity 🌿 Nature |
Context
Written in 1940 by Ananda Samarakoon, who studied under Rabindranath Tagore in India, the anthem was adopted at independence in 1951. There is a long-standing controversy that the government altered the original lyrics without the composer's consent.
Lyrics
ශ්රී ලංකා මාතා
අප ශ්රී ලංකා
නමෝ නමෝ මාතා
ශ්රී ලංකා
Translations are non-official and intended to convey meaning, not replace originals
Interesting facts
- • Composer Ananda Samarakoon studied under Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore at Visva-Bharati University in India
- • Samarakoon reportedly was deeply upset that the government changed his original lyrics and key, contributing to his depression
- • Sri Lanka's anthem is constitutionally required to be sung in both Sinhala and Tamil